Feuerschwanz (German for "fire tail") is a German medieval metal band founded in 2004 in

Erlangen Erlangen (; , ) is a Middle Franconian city in Bavaria, Germany. It is the seat of the administrative district Erlangen-Höchstadt (former administrative district Erlangen), and with 119,810 inhabitants (as of 30 September 2024), it is the smalle ...

History

2003–2013: Formation and early years

Peter Henrici, a bassist for the band ''Merlons Lichter'' at the time, originally had the idea to create a comedic medieval rock band in 2000, as he felt that the genre of

medieval folk rock Medieval folk rock, medieval rock or medieval folk is a musical subgenre that emerged in the early 1970s in England and Germany which combined elements of early music with rock music. It grew out of the British folk rock and progressive folk m ...

was taking itself too seriously. He, along with Tobias Heindl, the violinist of

Fiddler's Green Fiddler's Green is an after-life where there is perpetual mirth, a fiddle that never stops playing, and dancers who never tire. In 19th-century English maritime folklore, it was a kind of after-life for sailors who had served at least fifty ye ...

, and Andre Linke, a fellow bassist, came together to form ''Feuerschwanz''. Soon after, Bastian Brenner and Jan Schindler joined on the flutes and drums respectively, with Schindler later switching to the bass. In November 2005, their first studio album ''Prima Nocte'' was released. Heindl left the band soon after, and Stephanie Pracht replaced him on the violin. In January 2007, Brenner left the group and was replaced with Marina Regler. A year later, Regler left and was replaced with Benjamin Metzner. All three had taken on the stage name "Hodenherz", with Metzner currently referred to as "Hodenherz III" or "Hodi." In June 2007, their second studio album ''Met und Miezen'' was released. In 2008, guitarist Hans Platz joined the band. In April 2009, Linke left the band, leaving Henrici as the only founding member still in Feuerschwanz. On 18 September 2009, their third studio album ''Metvernichter'' was released. On 18 March 2011, their fourth studio album ''Wunsch ist Wunsch'' was released. On 31 August 2012, their fifth studio album ''Walhalligalli'' was released.

2014–2018: Tenth anniversary and rise in popularity

On 25 April 2014, the band performed their tenth anniversary concert at

E-Werk E-Werk may refer to of a number of music venues across Germany, including *E-Werk (Berlin) E-Werk was a techno music club in Berlin, Germany that was held in a former electrical substation called ''Abspannwerk Buchhändlerhof''. Located near Chec ...

in Erlangen. During the performance, Henrici announced Schindler's departure and that Felix Fischer would take his place. The band was joined by musician Thomas Lindner on stage. The live concert recording was released on 27 May 2015. On 19 September 2014, their sixth studio album ''Auf's Leben'' was released. On 21 May 2015, Feuerschwanz was removed from the list of bands performing at ''Fairytale Festival'' at

Osnabrück University Osnabrück University () is a public research university located in the city of Osnabrück in Lower Saxony, Germany. The university is known for its many interdisciplinary degree programmes, some of them rare or even unique among German uni ...

and replaced with Reliquiae for the festival's lineup. This was in response to planned protests by the student body against the band's appearance due to perceived misogynistic and sexist content in the setlist. In response, the band expressed their disappointment and emphasized the satirical nature of their music. On 19 August 2016, their seventh studio album ''Sex is Muss'' was released. This became one of their most popular albums to date, breaking into the Top 100 Album-Charts on the official German music charts at number 7. On 17 August 2018, their eighth studio album ''Methämmer'' was released. It reached number 6 on the official German music charts.

2019–present: Signing with Napalm Records, ''Memento Mori'', and ''Fegefeuer''

In June 2019, the band signed a record deal with

Napalm Records Napalm Records is an Austrian independent record label focused on heavy metal, hard rock and folk/folk rock/folk metal. Originally, Napalm focused on black metal bands, such as Abigor and Summoning, and folk metal bands, such as Falkenbach a ...

. On 26 June 2020, their ninth studio album ''Das Elfte Gebot'' was released. This was the first album to also be released as a vinyl record. That same day, the band hosted an outdoor concert called ''11:O:A'' at Abenberg Castle; however, due to COVID-19 restrictions in Germany at the time, there were no physical attendees and the concert was streamed live on Napalm Record's official

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

channel. On 9 June 2021, Feuerschwanz announced on Facebook that longtime drummer Sir Lanzeflott (Gruss) would be leaving after sixteen years. The band had no immediate successor to replace him, and the drums would be played by various guest musicians at their upcoming concerts while they looked for a replacement. On 14 August 2021, the band

Megaherz Megaherz (German name meaning "Mega-heart", a pun on the homophone "Hertz, megahertz") is a German Neue Deutsche Härte band formed in Eichenau in 1993. Megaherz has gone through many changes in musical style since their founding. Their early ...

announced on Facebook the departure of their drummer Rolf Hering and revealing that he was the new drummer for Feuerschwanz. Feuerschwanz officially confirmed this on 10 September 2021. On 30 December 2021, their tenth studio album ''Memento Mori'' was released. The band's producer Simon Michael stepped in on the drums, as the position was still vacant at the time of recording. The album reached number one on the official German charts on 7 January 2022. On 21 July 2023, their eleventh studio album ''Fegefeuer'' was released. On 28 July 2023, the album reached number one on the official German charts. On 4 February 2025, Feuerschwanz were announced as one of the acts in Germany's national selection for

Eurovision 2025 The Eurovision Song Contest 2025 was the 69th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Basel, Switzerland, following the country's victory at the with the song "The Code (Nemo song), The Code" by Nemo (singer), Nemo. Organised ...

Musical style

The band has described their early albums as "medieval folk comedy", which were often paired with brash language, humorous lyrics, and innuendo. In 2020, after signing on with Napalm Records and ahead of the release of ''Das elfte Gebot'', Feuerschwanz shifted from comedic

towards a more serious heavy metal style. Henrici noted the disconnect between the comedic nature of their music and a German audience, especially with the band's earlier works, and said that it was "shocking" for Germans to hear humor in a song. Originally, Myu and Musch-Musch were called "Miezen" (German for 'kitties') and wore feline accessories with their costumes. In January 2025, the band announced on Instagram that the "Miezen" are now

shield-maidens A shield-maiden ( ) was a female warrior from Scandinavian folklore and mythology. The term most often shows up in fornaldarsögur such as ''Hervarar saga ok Heiðreks''. However, female warriors are also mentioned in the Latin work ''Gesta Dan ...

to modernize the image of the performers.

Members

Current

* Hauptmann Feuerschwanz (Henrici) – vocals, guitar, lute (2003–present) * Prinz R. Hodenherz "Hodi" III (Metzner) – vocals, guitar, flute, mandolin, Irish bouzouki, bagpipes, various whistles/ (2007–present) * Johanna von der Vögelweide (Pracht) – violin,

hurdy-gurdy The hurdy-gurdy is a string instrument that produces sound by a hand-turned crank, rosined wheel rubbing against the strings. The wheel functions much like a violin (or nyckelharpa) bow, and single notes played on the instrument sound similar ...

(2005–present) * Hans the Upright (Platz) – electric guitar (2008–present) * Rollo H. Schönhaar (Hering) – drums (2021–present) * Jarne Hodinsson (Jamaszyk) – bass (2018–present) * Schildmaid Yennefer (formerly Mieze Myu) (Diehl) – performer, harp (2012–present) * Schildmaid Hela (formerly Mieze Musch-Musch) – performer (2006–present)

Former

* Eysye (Linke) – bass (2003–2009) * Walther von der Vögelweide (Heindl) – violin (2003–2005) * Sir Lanzeflott (Gruss) – drums (2005–2021) * Richard Hodenherz I (Brenner) – flute, guitar (2004–2007) * Der Knappe (Schindler) – percussion, bass, vocals (2004–2014) * Felix Taugenix (Fischer) – bass (2014–2018) * Ronja Hodenherz (Regler) – flute, guitar (2006–2007)

Timeline

Discography

*''Prima Nocte'' (2005) *''Met und Miezen'' (2007) *''Metvernichter'' (2009) *''Wunsch ist Wunsch'' (2011) *''Walhalligalli'' (2012) *''Auf's Leben!'' (2014) *''Sex is Muss'' (2016) *''Methämmer'' (2018) *''Das elfte Gebot'' (2020) *''Memento Mori'' (2021) *''Todsünden'' (2022) *''Fegefeuer'' (2023) *''Warriors'' (2024) *''Knightclub'' (2025) forthcoming

References

External links

* * *{{discogs artist Musical groups established in 2004 Medieval metal musical groups German folk metal musical groups German power metal musical groups